Mr. Lubatti, Turin made many technological choices for mobility. What else is needed to become a smart city?
Turin in recent years has gained the first place in Italy for quality and quantity of telematics services designed and offered to citizens thanks to the constant and valuable collaboration between 5t and GTT, but on these issues, the constant technological evolution forces us to continue the journey, indeed the race to dump on the user all the advantages of data processing in our possession.

Which projects is your administration currently pursuing?
The big issue we are facing right now is just based on the concept of open data. What and how many data on mobility do we have to offer to users? Which of these can also be made available to private companies that, after processing, will be able to give them to users? Which of these have to stay public and free? So, at the moment we are reflecting on the concept of open data and make it available for Turin.

You are one of the youngest councilor in Italy. You have been named “Councilor 2.0”, you use facebook, twitter and blogs for communications. What do you think about ITS? Which are the applications to support? Which one are the most requested by citizens?
The applications to support and develop are those that allow us to further increase the quality perceived by end users. The percentage of people using public transport in the possession of a smartphone is awesome, from real time infomobility services to problems on public transport routes to studies on mobility by tracking the use of the public transport to improve it, when possible.

The feeling is that will and great powers collide with the usual chorus of funding shortages. Have you thought about how to solve this problem?
On this issue, the lack of resources is not the main problem. Rather two conditions are necessary: the courage to bet on a cultural change and the quality of innovative proposals in the field. I can say Turin is ready for the challenge having the possibility to totally satisfied both conditions.

During a recent Conference in Turin, TTS Italia has launched a table between public administrations and private companies to create new partnerships for implementing new technologies in transport. What do you think? Do you agree and is Turin available for the table?
Turin is ready to participate and to coordinated the table. Turin also offers as first meeting place. The skills available in the 5T, in GTT and in the structure of the Municipality of Turin will be the engine of active initiatives decided within the table as well as immediately available for any operational tests.

At MobilityTech in Neaples you lauched an appeal to Anci (National Association of Italian Municipalities), Regions and Government to take a definite position on the future of transport in the cities, especially on sustainable choices. Did you get any response at institutional level?
Many local authorities have heard and accepted our appeal. We need courageous decisions on the Local Public Transport: we can not continue to talk about improvements in the public service and then attend a constant cutting of resources by the Regions (Piemonte Region cuts 9% in 2012 and 15% in 2013). How can we invest in innovation with no funds? Even worse, if we talk about sustainable mobility, fleet replacement…

What do Public Administrations like yours expect from the National ITS Plan?
The National ITS Plan will a great opportunity both for Turin and all local authorities.There are no good local practices if you do not fall into a national challenge that has the power and authority to impose higher organisms to continue to invest in public transport and innovations for end-user.

Who is Claudio Lubatti. Claudio Lubatti is 34 years old, he is married and has one kid. From an early age, engaged in sports associations and voluntary work, he was a director and then vice president in the District, provincial coordinator of the Margherita (Italian party), the leader of the Democratic Party in the Provincial Council of Turin. He works in Banca Intesa and in his spare time loves to travel, preferably by motorbike.

TTS in action

At TTS Italia office a briefing on the new call of the Seventh Framework Programme and the Call "Smart Cities" by the Italian Ministry for University and Research
In the presence of several members, it was held on July 18 in Rome, at the headquarters of TTS Italia, a briefing on the new call of the VII Framework Programme, published last July 10, and the call "Smart Cities" published by the Italian Ministry for University and Research on 5 July. The meeting was organized in view of the great importance of these opportunities for TTS Italia members. During the first part of the day, the main calls related to the fields of activities of interest of TTS Italia members have been illustrated, while the second part of the morning, Fabrizio Cobis from the Ministry for University and Research, presented the call "Smart Cities".

Second edition of the New World Conference: “The New World II – The General States of ITS for mobility management in Italy: the demand and supply meet” – 3, 4 December 2012 - Bologna
TTS Italia in collaboration with Club Italia is organizing the Second Edition of the Conference "The New World - The general states of ITS for mobility management in Italy: The demand and supply meet," to be held on 3 and 4 December 2012 at the Hotel Savoia Regency in Bologna. The conference will provide an opportunity to present and discuss the contents of the draft of the ITS National Plan, made from the table of Italian associations interested in ITS sector and coordinated by TTS Italia. Also for this year, the conference will be organized in an exhibition part and a congressional one to give the widest possible space to all fields of application of ITS systems for the management of urban and extraurban mobility and logistics, security, electronic payment systems, and technologies applied to local public transport. In particular the conference will be structured in 10 sessions with a Round table for each of the two days to discuss issues related to the ITS sector with Local Authorities and Institutions. Moreover, in the same venue, it will be held on December 5 the Workshop organized by TTS Italia in collaboration with the IRF-International Road Federation, member of the European ITS Advisory Group. The meeting aims to present the results of ITS Policy Committee, of which TTS Italia is part.

TTS Italia at the 19th ITS World Congress
TTS Italia, Italian ITS Association, will be attending the 19th ITS World Congress in Vienna from 22 to 26 October 2012. TTS Italia will be present at the booth number E60 with the following members: Autostrade Tech, Famas System, Magneti Marelli, Pluservice, Telespazio and 5t. In accordance with the Congress motto “Smarter on the way”, TTS Italia members will be presenting their last innovative ITS solutions and products for transport and road safety. At TTS Italia stand will also be present Fondazione Formit with I-Tour project in which TTS Italia is participating as stakeholder and final user, and Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism which will be involving several Italian companies from the Piemonte Region area. TTS Italia welcomes you all at stand E60!

TTS Italia on “LeStrade”
Available on the Italian review “LeStrade” the article by TTS Italia on its position on the aknowledgement of the ITS Directive.
For the article, click here (available only in Italian)

News of the month

Alberto Broggi awarded by the Royal Institute of Navigation
Further recognition for the research work done by the group VisLab and in particular by Alberto Broggi, a professor in the Department of Information Engineering at the University of Parma, TTS Italia ordinary member. The award was presented to Alberto Broggi from the Royal Institute of Navigation. Each year the Royal Institute of Navigation selects persons who distinguished itself internationally in the field of navigation, especially the reasons for the award this year cite the many successes that were achieved by the professor and his research group VisLab in recent years, contributing to write the history of robotic vehicles. The Laboratory VisLab have been involved for more than 15 years in machine vision application to any type of vehicle, pursuing different objectives, ranging from increased road safety to management of fuel consumption, to the increase of the security conditions in the case of work vehicles.
Source: Corriere.Comunicazioni

CRF and Iveco in the “CityLog” project for sustainable logistics
CRF and Iveco, TTS Italia ordinary members, together with TNT Express, Piemonte Regione and City of Turin, have presented the second phase of “CityLog”, the European project for the sustainable logistic aimed at a greater efficiency in goods distribution in the urban context through integrated solutions. The project includes a transhipment area in Turin where a “Freight bus”, a medium size commercial vehicle, deposits three units of modular load containing the goods ready to be distributed. Then, a few Iveco vans take delivery of each load unite to distribute content in their areas of expertise in the city. Unfulfilled deliveries are sent to the distribution center of TNT. This will reduce the mileage of the vans used to transport goods, thus limiting the environmental impact of the entire distribution process.
Source: Trasporto-Italia

ITS-EduNet organize five short courses on ITS
ITS-EduNet, the international Network International Network aiming to improve training and education in ITS at an European level, of which Politecnico of Turin, TTS Italia ordinary member is part, offers five short courses on ITS before the start of the ITS World Congress 2012 in Vienna. The courses will be held at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien on 20 and 21 October 2012 and will be focused on : Inter-Urban Traffic Management; Urban Traffic Management; From Data to Information; Measuring the Benefits of ITS; Cooperative Systems. This last course is organized by Prof. Bruno Dalla Chiara from the Politecnico of Turin.
For further information, click here
To register, http://www.its-edunet.org/
Source: TTS Italia

Launched in Brussels the new EGNOS service for greater GPS reliability
On July 26, in Brussels, Vice President of European Commission Antonio Tajani launched the European Data Access Service (EDAS) - a new commercial service of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) – designed to make satellite navigation in Europe more reliable and thus more effective for use in commercial applications in difficult surroundings. EDAS is the European service for EGNOS data access. As it makes GPS data available via the internet, EDAS ensures that users can access EGNOS information even if the EGNOS satellite signal in space is unavailable EDAS is the basis of the EGNOS Commercial Service, whose aim is to make European satellite navigation more reliable. EDAS will support new services in numerous sectors including high-precision fertiliser spraying, automatic road-tolling, fleet management, inland waterway navigation, dangerous goods transportation or accurate area measurement. Among the examples of EGNOS and EDAS use for the monitoring of dangerous goods transportation, the European Commission MEMO mentions the European project SCUTUM (SeCUring the EU GNSS adopTion), coordinated by Telespazio, TTS Italia ordinary member.
For European Commission press release, click here
For European Commission MEMO, click here
For further information on SCUTUM, click here
Source: European Commission

Telespazio at the “Galileo Project Special Panel” within the Estel Conference on Space and Satellite Communication
Telespazio, TTS Italia ordinary member, will be attending the “Galileo Project Special Panel” organized within the Estel Conference on Space and satellite Communication in Rome from 2 to 5 October 2012. The “Galileo Project Special Panel”, to be held in Rome on 4 October at the Congress Centre of Fontana di Trevi, will be divided into 6 subject areas, each featuring speeches held by international experts. For the area related to road Galileo applications, the speech will be held by Antonella Di Fazio from Telespazio.
For the programme of the Conference and subscription form:
http://www.estelconference.org/special-sessions/
Source: Telespazio

The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport signes agreements for road safety
It was held on 25 July at the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport the celebration of the IV European Day for the Road Safety established by the European Commission. The new European Programme 2011-2020 identifies, among the seven strategic objectives to be pursued in the decade, the "Strengthening of the education and training for road users” and in this framework the Ministry developed new educational projects especially aimed at young people in schools, in collaboration with various public and private sector actively involved in road safety. The Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport took the occasion of the IV European Day for the Road Safety to sign the relevant agreements for these projects. The efforts made in recent years in favor of education on the roads has already led to significant results: in 2011 the number of fatalities (source ISTAT) decreased from 4090 in 2010 to 3280. Overall, during the years 2001-2010 there was a reduction in mortality of 42.4%.
Source: Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport

Thetis won the tender for the Actv system for passengers counts
ACTV has entrusted to Thetis, TTS Italia ordinary member, the contract for the supply and installation of a system of passengers counting on board its fleet of buses that will interface with the monitoring system already on board by providing more detailed information about the service provided to users. Specifically, the system provided by Thetis should record the number of passengers up and down at each stop, the data collected in real time will be recorded and integrated with other information about races conducted. The device, which will be installed on about 70 buses, on top of doors, allows the analysis of passenger movements and an improved service planning.
Source: Thetis

VisLab puts technology at the disposal of Italian Region hit by earthquake
VisLab, Laboratory for ITS technologies of Parma University, TTS Italia ordinary member, has developed a radio controlled and unmanned forklift, able to empty the stores unusable. The idea was born after the second strong earthquake that hit the Emilia Region last May: VisLab, along with Italian companies TopCon, Elettric80 and FaberCom, has formed a team with the goal of providing their technologies to the companies of the Region Emilia that have suffered significant damage after the earthquake. Many of the companies buildings have been damaged and many goods still remain inside and cannot be used. The radio controlled and unmanned forklift is able to empty the warehouses declared uninhabitable. Everything is based on a system of cameras and onboard intelligence. In less than a month it has been designed and built without the forklift driver. It is remote controlled from outside the vehicle and uses 7 cameras that send images to an operator to guide the shuttle through a rapprochement with the remote control up to pallets. It Uploads and downloads and, once mapped the warehouse, the forklift may move independently without being supervised. Now will operate mainly in Mirandola, one of the most damaged area by the earthquake.
Source: La Repubblica-Parma.it

Product of the month

EVEN THE AUSTRIAN RAILWAYS ÖBB USE POWERSOFT SYSTEMS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THEIR RAIL TRACK MAINTENANCE VEHICLES

Powersoft has acquired the European Tender for the Rail Track Maintenance Vehicles Fleet Management of the Austrian Railways Operator ÖBB. Powersoft is then enforcing its own presence on this market segment, after the Company won the Italian railway RFI European tender for the supply of 2500 On Board Unit and the Operative Centre software. The on board units supplied to ÖBB are the PowerLAC devices configured with all Rail standards. Such device, among the various features as various inputs, ensures a permanent reliable and precise vehicle localization thanks to the “dead reckoning” technology operating in the absence of GPS coverage. The Powersoft Control Centre software uses an open and modular architecture that easily fits the Customer needs by means its configurability and scalability features. After the qualification tests, the supplied solution has been set operative and integrated into the ÖBB management system, that is utilized for by ÖBB for: real-time monitoring of various on-board parameters necessary to manage the operative services; planning of maintenance services; administrative statistics and more.

For contacts: luciano.ciappi@powersoft.it

Project of the month

Fiat Research Centre at the final event of the euroFOT Project

iat Research Centre and Lancia took part in the final event of the European euroFOT project, which took place in Brussels from 26 to 27 June. The event made available the results of this large-scale project, a “Field Operational Test” in which the major European manufacturers have tested, with the direct involvement of their customers, the benefits that can be achieved in real traffic conditions with the latest driving assistance systems.
A Lancia Delta equipped with the sophisticated “Driving Advisor” system will be displayed during the event. This is an important preventive safety feature which advises the driver if they approach the edge of the lane involuntarily, a system which has been subjected to analysis by the Fiat Research Centre as part of the project.

more
For contacts: gianfranco.burzio@crf.it

Save the date

Telemobility Forum - VIII edition
27-28 September 2012 - Milan
For further information, click here

7th China Annual Conference and International Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems
26-28 September 2012, Beijing, China
For further information, click here

ITS relevant tenders in Italy

I-Ancona: Design and development of a data warehouse of local public transport services
I-Canosa di Puglia: Control system for communications
I-Como: local public transport services
I-Torino: traffic fliw measuring system

TTS Informa wishes you nice holidays and will be back in September!

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